I Thought I Saw You Today
by FloodFeSTeR
Summary: 12 years into normalcy, Thor sees something in the grocery store. - Kind of just a rough draft, something I had to get out of my head before I forgot


_**I thought about this while I was playing Skyrim somehow. I hope you guys enjoy.**_

* * *

"Think I can get her to eat this?"

Thor blinked once, twice, and then turned his attention from the young girl with cherry curls to his wife. Jane was staring at a box of something in her hand, staring at it like they were rivals. Thor smiled gently, plucking the box out of her hand.

"No," he pulled another box from the shelf. "But she'll eat this."

Jane rolled her eyes and snatched the box away from him harshly. "No Thor," she grumbled, slamming it back down onto the shelf. "That's junkfood."

He sighed, watching her grab the box she had before from the shelf. "Fine," he ran a hand down his face. "Then we make her."

Jane smiled, dropping the box into the cart with smug satisfaction. "Good," now tell her to meet me in the ladies department."

Thor nodded as Jane disappeared around a rack of tank tops, turning to the young lady with cherry curls. "Elisif! Come over here!"

She smiled at him over her shoulder. "Coming!"

Thor smiled at his daughter, watched her hug the put-together young man she had been talking to then watched her hands linger around his shoulders. He turned away then, giving her some relative privacy. He looked left then right, eyes settling on a somewhat familiar figure.

When they turned, basket curled in the crook of their right arm, Thor felt his veins freeze.

Same inky hair, same lean build and the familiar green tunic hung loosely on his shoulders. His long right arm reached to the top shelf with ease, grabbing a colorful box of wrapping paper and he scowled at the price.

Thor opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, he didn't hear Elisif talking to him. He opened his mouth again, feeling the words ready to fly, felt his feet ready to take him to the familiar face, but he stopped short.

A young woman crashed into the face, her belly swollen with pregnancy and her white teeth smiled up in embarrassment. That familiar laugh made Thor want to almost cry. His long arms wrapped around the woman, showing her the box of pink paper and her head bobbed enthusiastically, pale white curls flying everywhere.

"Daddy? Daddy are you ok?"

Thor blinked, watching the face turn a corner. For a moment, he could have sworn they locked eyes. He looked down to his daughter, saw the concern in her face and shook his head.

"Sorry darling," he rubbed his forehead. "Got lost um," he looked around. "Your mother wanted to see you in the ladies department."

Elisif smiled, clapping her hands wildly. "I get a new dress!"

It took him that second to forget about what he saw. The warmth from his daughters smile always seemed to blot out the pain.

* * *

"I'll be in there in a minute," Thor called to Jane.

"Don't be too long, your food will get cold."

He chuckled and shut their bedroom door, walking around to his side of the bed. He sat down on the edge, staring out the window until he reached into the nightstand. He pulled out a small tape recorder, preferring that to paper. Writing in a journal seemed too feminine for the God of Thunder.

He hit the button, watching the cogs turn until he mustered the courage to speak.

"I thought I saw you today," he muttered, eyes glassy as he looked back out the window. "In the grocery store. You had a girl with you," Thor chuckled. "She was really pretty. And a baby girl? I had one too...I just wish you could have found someone sooner..."

Had he been alone all this time? Or had he and the girl been together for awhile, just now deciding to have a child? And a girl no less, just like Thor.

"I wish I could see you...there are so many things I want to tell you," Thor sighed. "Listen to me, I sound like a woman," his mirth died for a moment. "But I...I miss you Loki. I really do. You were...you were my little brother. That's not something I can just forget."

"Daddy?"

Thor looked back over his shoulder, seeing Elisif staring at him with her mother's doe eyes. "I'm coming, bugger."

She smiled a little and then nodded, turning around and shutting the door as she left. Thor sighed and settled back into his former position and pressed the end of the recorder to his forehead. Was it really Loki in the store? Or had his eyes played tricks on him? It wouldn't be the first time.

"I just want you to be ok," he muttered into the recorder. "I'm out of tapes...so, maybe I'll have the guts to look for you again soon, preferably when Elisif is out of the house...until then, these will stay with me. Maybe we'll meet again, in the planes of Valhalla or in life..."

He stared at the window for a moment longer before cutting of the recorder, feeling his heart sink as he tucked it away into the drawer.


End file.
